Meanwhile, close to the park's fountain, a few minutes earlier, to be precise...
"Good heavens, I still can't believe, that I wanted to give mister Tatsurou a ruble bill, to pay for the crepes...I thought that in Takamagahara, they accepted every type of currency...at least, that's what was on the internet..." Livanya, that was still sitting on the side of the park's fountain, said with very a embarrassed tone, as she placed her hands on top of her shoulder bag, that rested on her lap.
"Well, it would seem that Talya was right, I shouldn't believe, everything that's on the internet...I just hope, that mister Tatsurou, doesn't think that I'm weird because of it..." Livanya said again with an embarrassed tone, while she blushed and looked down at her bag for a bit in silence.
"Mister Tatsurou...seems to be a really nice and good person...but I bet, that if I told him the truth, he would get very angry and take me back to Talya and my exploring, would be cut short in the blink of an eye..." Livanya thought a bit sad, as she kept looking at her bag, which she gripped tightly.
"Once he comes back, I'll just tell him the truth, yes, that's what I'll do and it's also the best option since he probably has other things to do and I'm just bothering him...and after I do that, I'll have to try and exchange some money, so that I can at least pay for the crepes he's going to get..." Livanya said with a sad tone, as she patted her bag a bit while letting out a small sigh.
"But for now, let's take a few pictures of the fountain as I had planned! It's such a shame, that this is going to be my only souvenir, from Takamagahara..." Livanya said again with a sad tone, as she got up and turned towards the fountain, so she could face it and as Livanya did that, she opened her shoulder bag to take out her camera.
"Hmm? Weird...I could swear that I saw my camera in here earlier... where is it?" Livanya said with a worried and curious tone, as she placed both of her hands inside the bag and fumbled around, as she looked for her camera, but as Livanya did this, something quite unexpected happened...
"Excuse me, miss?" A very feminine voice, suddenly said this to Livanya, prompting her to jolt a bit upon hearing it.
"Y-Yes?" Livanya said with a faint scared and nervous tone, as she stooped fumbling on her shoulder bag and turned around to see who this voice belonged to and as Livanya finally turned around, she saw a rather tall woman, that had light brown straight hair that reached to the middle of her back, that curled up a bit on the tips that were a bit greyish and as for her clothes, she wore a white v-neck sweater with a black leather jacket over it and she also wore black tight jeans with equally black boots that almost reached to her knees.
"Oh my! I'm so sorry for scaring you, miss!" The woman said with a sweet apologetic tone, as she placed her hand in front of her mouth while she smiled towards a very suspicious Livanya.
"N-No need say sorry...it's alright..." Livanya said with a faint nervous tone, as she took a very small step back.
"Oh, but I still feel really bad, for having scared you, miss...but I just couldn't contain myself, you know? Once I saw your cute hat, I just had to come and have a little talk with you!" The woman said with a happy tone, as she placed her hands together and tilted her head a bit.
"M-My hat? Oh, do you mean my beret here?" Livanya asked with a curious tone, as she placed both of her hands on her big beret while she adjusted it a little bit.
"Exactly! I am a very big fan and collector, of every type of hats and I have to admit that I have never seen a hat or in this case a beret, as big and fluffy looking as yours, miss!" The woman said with a happy and informative tone, as she raised her index finger a bit, something that surprised Livanya a bit.
"Hmm, I see...I'm very surprised to meet a fellow hat collector here...!" As Livanya said this, she suddenly stopped as the woman got very close to Livanya and grabbed both of her hands.
"Oh my God! Don't tell me, that you are a hat collector too, miss?!" The woman asked with a very curious tone, as she pulled Livanya close to her, this made Livanya feel both scared and uncomfortable, especially after seeing the dubious expression on this woman's face as she kept holding Livanya's hands a bit too tight for comfort.
"Y-Yes...I also collect various hats, but mostly berets to be honest...and this one right here...is my favorite one, out of all the hats in my collection..." Livanya said with a very nervous but mostly uncomfortable tone, as she moved her hands a bit until she finally freed herself from the woman's tight grasp and as Livanya did that, she took a step back.
"I know that you shouldn't judge people by their appearance...but I doubt that this woman collects hats...and most of all, she's acting very weird and scary...I don't like this, at all! Perhaps I should go after mister Tatsurou...yes, I better do that..." Livanya thought still scared, as she took another step back while rubbing her hands a bit.
"I have to admit that I also love to go out with my favorites! But I sometimes end up not choosing them in the end, since I'm afraid of either losing or damaging them! I'm impressed, miss! You're so brave for using your favorites without being afraid to damage them!" The woman said with a happy and impressed tone, as she took a step forward and smiled, but Livanya was faster as she took another step back again, upon seeing the very murky smile, that the woman was giving her.
"I-I was told that before, but since this beret was a gift, I would feel bad for not using it..." Livanya said with a very faint nervous tone, as she took another step back and held the strap of her shoulder bag tight.
"N-Now, if you would excuse me...I have someone waiting for me, not so far from here...so...g-goodbye...!" Livanya said still with her nervous tone, as she quickly turned towards the direction of the crepe van to go after Tatsurou, but as she did, the woman quickly grabbed Livanya's right wrist, with her left hand, something that scared Livanya, even more than she already was.
"I know that you're in a hurry miss...but could you...take it off your beret and let me touch it just a little bit, to see what it is made of...before you go?" The woman asked as she kept holding Livanya's wrist while she smiled again.
"I am very sorry...but as I said this is my favorite beret and I don't like it when people touch it...!" Livanya said with a scared and nervous tone, as she moved her wrist to make the woman let go, but in return, the woman held her wrist tighter.
"Come on now! You're being quite unfair, miss...I know that it is your favorite and all, but letting me touch it, just a tiny little bit won't hurt you, or will it?" The woman asked this with a rather sweet tone, that didn't match the impatient and angry expression on her face.
"I-It wouldn't hurt...but I don't want you to touch it! So please, let go of me already!" Livanya said this with an angry but mostly scared tone, as she moved her wrist and arm a lot so that she could break free, but the woman just pulled Livanya very close to her in response.
"Please don't worry miss! I don't bite nor will I damage your precious beret...so just stay still for a moment and let me touch it a little bit..." The woman said with a sweet tone again, but this time her expression was an angry and annoyed one, as she slowly began to move her hand towards Livanya's beret.
"I-I can't let her take my beret off and see what's under it...but...she's so...so scary..." Livanya thought, as she slowly moved her left hand to stop the woman from touching her beret, but as Livanya did this, the woman gave her a quick and intimidating glare, which made Livanya move her hand down again.
"Please...Talya...someone...save me..." Livanya thought while she closed her eyes that began to teared up a bit, as she placed her left hand on the beret and lowering her head, to delay the woman from touching it.
But just as Livanya prepared herself for the worst, she heard a familiar voice that answered her prayers...
"Let go of her!" As Livanya heard this voice, she quickly opened her eyes, and as Livanya's did that she saw Tatsurou holding the woman's right arm with his left hand, stooping her, just before she could touch the beret.
"Mister Tatsurou!" Livanya thought both happy and relieved, upon seeing that Tatsurou came to her rescue.
"Just...who are you?" The woman asked with a very annoyed and angry tone, that could make anyone shiver, as she glared at Tatsurou.
"Me? I'm her friend, I'm not very fond of seeing people, bothering my friends..." Tatsurou said with a calm tone, as he slowly moved the woman's arm and by consequence her hand, away from Livanya's beret.
"Oh, I see...but worry not mister, I am not bothering your friend at all! I was just asking her to let me touch her hat a little bit!" The woman said with an angry tone, which quickly turned into her sweet one, as she kept glaring at Tatsurou, but he wasn't having it.
"Honestly, the way I see it, you're not just simply bothering her, your harassing, scaring, and hurting her...so please, just let go of her, before you cause a scene..." Tatsurou said again with a calm tone, as he kept holding the woman's arm.
"You probably haven't heard me right the first time around, so I'll tell you again...I was just asking your friend to let me see her hat, something pretty simple! And meanwhile, your the one that's being scary and harassing me..." The woman said with an annoyed and angry tone, that in the blink of an eye turned into a scared one and upon hearing this, Tatsurou opens his eyes wide as he looked over his shoulder and saw that the people that walked close to the fountain, were giving them either suspicious or curious looks, as some stooped too see how this would unfold, while others kept walking away as the gave them worried glances.
"With that said, brat...you better let go of me right now or I'll scream, then we'll both find out who everyone here would believe...so what do you say, want to give it a try, hmm?" The woman said with a very smug tone and expression, as she kept glaring at Tatsurou, that kept calm despite the treat the woman just made.
"This woman just put me in a very tight spot...I didn't want to do this, but it's probably the only way, to make her let go of Drakon-san..." As Tatsurou thought this, he slowly turned his gaze back towards the woman, while he reached for the inside of his jacket with his right hand.
"What are you...!" As the woman said this, she stooped dead in her tracks, upon seeing Tatsurou taking his wallet out from his jacket and flashing his Soteria Id card.
"N-No way! You're with the Soteria?!" The woman said with an impressed and surprised tone, as she looked at the Id, then at Tatsurou, that briefly smiled.
"Yes, I am with the Soteria and I don't really like or want to be this type of guy, but if you don't let go of my friend right now, you'll have to accompany me to the Soteria headquarters and explain, why you were harassing her and why you threatened a Soteria agent just now..." As Tatsurou said this, he closed his wallet and looked at the woman clenching her teeth hard.
"But, if you let go of her right now, I'll turn a blind eye to this whole thing and we all return to our normal lives...without any incidents, so what will it be, miss?" Tatsurou asked again with a calm tone, as he placed his wallet away and after a rather quick moment of thinking, the woman clicked her tongue, before letting go of Livanya's wrist and as soon as the woman did that, Livanya quickly went behind Tatsurou, where she hid from that woman.
"It's good to see, that your reasonable, miss..." Tatsurou said with a relieved tone, as he briefly glanced at Livanya from over his shoulder and saw her grabbing the tip of his jacket, while she looked a bit down.
"What can I say? I would never get myself into trouble with the authorities, anything but that!" The woman said with a sweet tone, as she placed her hands together.
"But please, make no mistake, mister...I am just a big collector of hats and I just can't control myself, when I see someone wearing a hat, I have never seen before or if it has a cute design!" The woman said with a reassuring and informative tone, while she raised her index finger a bit, but of course, to Tatsurou, everything this woman said sounded, as simple lies.
"I see...well, it's good that you love your hobby a lot and all, but when people say that they don't want you to touch their hats, just accept it and refrain from being forceful or scaring those same people, before you get yourself in trouble again, alright?" Tatsurou said with a calm tone while he briefly smiled and glanced at the woman trying her hardest to force a smile, upon hearing him.
"I sure will! You don't have to worry about that, mister Soteria agent!" The woman said as her voice briefly cracked, cutting the line between, her sweet tone and her angry tone, as she turned her back to Tatsurou.
"Tsk...goddamn brat..." The woman said under her breath, as she began to walk away from Tatsurou and Livanya.
"God...I have never seen someone break character that much, during a conversation before...but this just shows, that Drakon-san is in trouble...first it was that woman with maid clothes and now this one with the leather jacket...I have to do something about this and fast..." Tatsurou thought while he let out a sigh and looked at the woman, that in the blink of an eye, vanished amid the crowd of people that walked around the park.
"But before I can do any of that...I have to check on Drakon-san...she must be really scared because of this..." As Tatsurou thought this he glanced at Livanya from over his shoulder again and saw that she was still holding the tip of his jacket and looking down, as she trembled quite a bit.
"Drakon-san, are you...!" As Tatsurou turned around and was about to ask Livanya, if she was alright or hurt, he was suddenly interrupted and surprised...
"T-That was so super and incredibly cool, Mister Tatsurou!" Livanya said with a very happy and excited tone, as she let go of Tatsurou's jacket, while she looked at him with very sparkling eyes, this prompted Tatsurou, to say a quick "heh?" upon hearing what Livanya said and how she was acting.
"The way you showed up so suddenly and the way you held that woman's arm, telling her calmly to let me go...you looked and acted exactly like, Kazuma Kiryu, from the Yakuza games, just now!" Livanya said again with a very excited tone, as she got very close to Tatsurou while she clenched her hands tight.
"I-I see..." Tatsurou said a bit embarrassed, as he scratched the back of his head a bit.
"I can't believe that Drakon-san, is acting as if nothing happened...she's quite brave, for not letting this faze her..." Tatsurou thought as he let out a sigh, while he smiled briefly.
"Say, Drakon-san, are you hurt or anything?" Tatsurou asked more worried than curious as he looked at the still excited and smiling Livanya.
"Well, my wrist hurts...just a little bit...but it's nothing to worry about, mister Tatsurou, I'm fine and unharmed!" Livanya said with a reassuring tone, while she rubbed her right wrist a bit and looked at Tatsurou, that upon hearing her, sighed in relief.
"I'm happy to hear, that she didn't hurt you, Drakon-san...I really am..." Tatsurou said with a relieved tone, as he smiled towards Livanya.
"And I'm really happy that you came to my rescue! Looks like little Honoka was right, about you being a true superhero! So thank you very, very much, for saving me just now, mister Tatsurou!" Livanya said with a very happy and honest tone, as she held Tatsurou's hands and smiled.
"Y-You don't have to thank or praise me like that, Drakon-san..." Tatsurou said a bit embarrassed as he looked away from Livanya.
"No, no, no! I have to both thank and praise you, for what you did! I just wish that there was a way, to reward you, for everything you did for me up until now..." Livanya said with a happy tone, which turned into a worried one, as she kept holding Tatsurou's hands.
"You don't need to reward me, Drakon-san, knowing that you are alright...is already enough for me! " Tatsurou said with a reassuring tone, as he smiled briefly, something that made Livanya look at Tatsurou with an impressed expression on, while she blushed a little bit.
"Well, I know that this might sound a bit sudden, Drakon-san...but after everything that happened, I think that we should get out of this park and go somewhere else, for the time being...what do you think?" Tatsurou asked with a curious tone, as he looked at Livanya, as she regained her composure, while she slowly let go of his hands.
"I think that's a good idea, Mister Tatsurou! But I have to admit, that I'm a bit sad, that we couldn't eat those crepes in the end, because of all of this..." Livanya said with a faintly sad tone, as she looked a bit down and blushed.
"Don't worry about that, Drakon-san...I'll take us somewhere, that you'll like! So please, follow me..." Tatsurou said with a reassuring tone, as he placed his hands inside the pockets of his jacket and smiled.
"Sure! Just lead the way, mister Tatsurou!" Livanya said with a happy tone as she placed herself next and close to Tatsurou's right side and soon enough, they began walking away, but as they did, Tatsurou remembered something...
"This might take a while...I better call, Shirayuki and tell her I'm not going to make it for lunch..." Tatsurou thought as he took his right hand out from the pocket of his jacket, to rub his chin a bit.
"Say, Drakon-san...you don't mind if I make a quick call, do you?" Tatsurou asked with a curious tone, as he looked at Livanya, that jolted a bit, upon hearing him.
"I don't mind, mister Tatsurou...but you're not going to call someone from the Soteria, are you?" Livanya asked a bit worried while she glanced at Tatsurou and thought about how Talya could get in trouble if Tatsurou called someone in the Soteria.
"Don't worry, I'm not going to call anyone in the Soteria...I just have to call my...my little sister...and tell her, that I won't be home for lunch..." Tatsurou said with a reassuring tone, as he looked at Livanya and smiled.
"If that's the case, then go ahead and call your little sister, mister Tatsurou!" Livanya said with a happy and relieved tone, as she smiled.
"Drakon-san is still uncomfortable with the idea of involving the authorities in this...but it's not a lost cause yet, I'll just have to try to convince her again a bit later when she's more comfortable and specially, when she's more at ease with me...let's just hope that she cooperates, when the time comes..."
Tatsurou thought as he reached for the pocket of his jeans and took out his phone, but as Tatsurou did that, he looked at his phone's screen in silence for a little bit, until he began to faintly blush...
"H-Hold on a second...this...this will be my first time, c-calling Shirayuki ever since I gave her a phone...god...now I'm nervous..." Tatsurou thought a bit embarrassed, as he kept blushing, while he slowly looked for Shirayuki's number in his contacts...
-----------------------------------
Meanwhile, a few minutes earlier in Tatsurou's apartment, in the living room to be precise, Shirayuki, was sitting on the couch and watching TV, but Shirayuki wasn't paying too much attention to the hosts of the talk show she was watching, as she had other things on her mind...
"Hmm...it's already 12:56 pm and no sign of Wise...and Tatsurou hasn't called yet, to say if he will come home for lunch or not..." Shirayuki said with a worried tone, as she looked at the watch on the wall of the living room, while her ahoge wiggled around briefly.
"I just hope that nothing bad happened to him or Honoka-chan...hmm, maybe...I should call Tatsurou and check if everything is going well and take the chance to ask if he's coming home..." Shirayuki thought as she glanced at her phone, which was on the small table in front of the couch, but as Shirayuki went to grab her phone, her hand came to a sudden halt.
"W-Wait...is it ok, to call Tatsurou out of the blue, like this?" Shirayuki thought as she slowly moved her hand, away from her phone.
"I really want to call him...but I feel that I shouldn't call, because of a reason like this...especially when he said that he would be the one to call...just what should I do?" Shirayuki thought as she placed her right hand on her cheek, while her ahoge briefly made a question mark, but then the sound of the apartment's doorbell was heard across the apartment, something that brought Shirayuki back from her thoughts.
"Huh? Who could it be at this hour?" Shirayuki asked herself with a curious tone, as she got up from the couch and made her way to the door and when she opened it, Shirayuki saw Wise, that had her silver hair tied into a ponytail and was wearing her usual sweater with an apron over it and jeans.
"Yahoo! Shirayuki-chan!" Wise, that was holding a plastic bag in each hand, said with a happy tone, while she smiled and looked at Shirayuki.
"Oh, Wise-san, you're finally here! Welcome and come on in!" Shirayuki said also with a happy tone, as she also looked at Wise and smiled.
"Don't mind if I do then!" Wise said as she stepped inside the apartment and took her sandals off.
"I'm so sorry for coming so late, Shirayuki-chan, but just as I was about to leave my house and come here, my big sis gave me a call and I ended up talking with her for quite a while..." Wise said with an apologetic tone, as she closed the door behind her.
"You don't have to apologize, Wise-san, I understand! Oh, and let me help you with those bags...and while we're at it, let's go to the kitchen and put everything in place!" Shirayuki said with a reassuring tone, as she grabbed the bags Wise was holding in her right hand.
"Thanks, Shirayuki-chan! But, I still have to apologize, since I promised that I would come early, to teach you how to make cookies...that's why I brought my special Teriyaki meatballs with red bell pepper rice for lunch and some of my new chocolate cookies as desert, to compensate for my tardiness!" Wise said with a happy tone, as she raised her left hand and showed Shirayuki the plastic bag she was holding, that had a box and a few Tupperware's.
"You didn't have to bring anything to compensate, Wise-san...now I feel bad about it..." Shirayuki said more worried than angry as she looked at Wise.
"Come on, don't feel bad about it, Shirayuki-chan! It's the least I could do, after leaving you waiting for so long...but for now let's go, to the kitchen!" Wise said with a reassuring and embarrassed tone, as she looked at Shirayuki that nodded as she turned toward the kitchen and began walking towards it with Wise following her from behind and when they finally got to the kitchen, Shirayuki and Wise placed the plastic bags on the table.
"Well then, with that said...here are the new cookies I made! These are a mix of white and dark chocolate chips!" Wise said with a happy tone, as she opened one of the plastic bags and out of it, she took a medium-sized white paper box that was tied with a red bow, that she handed to Shirayuki.
"Thanks! I can't wait...to...try them...out..." Shirayuki said with a very faint embarrassed tone, as she grabbed the box and looked at it for a brief moment in silence before she began to blush.
"Is something wrong, Shirayuki-chan?" Wise asked a bit worried, as she looked at Shirayuki that was brought back from her thoughts upon hearing her.
"Heh? No...nothings wrong...it's just that...well...you see, Wise-san, this morning, Tatsurou asked me why you were giving us, a lot of cookies as of late..." Shirayuki said a bit embarrassed, as she turned to the counter and placed the box on top of it.
"I'm a bit surprised that he asked you that, but to be honest it is only normal that Tatsurou-chan would grow suspicious of it...when I suddenly change from bringing him cookies, from time to time, to suddenly bringing cookies every day..." Wise said a bit embarrassed, as she scratched her cheek and laughed a bit nervously.
"But say, Shirayuki-chan...what did you tell Tatsurou-chan, when he asked about this?" Wise asked both curious and worried as she tilted her head a bit.
"Well...I told Tatsurou that...you sell them on the internet and that you only bring us what you don't sell...I could never tell him, the real reason..." Shirayuki said with an embarrassed tone, as she placed her hands in front of her face, something that made Wise feel a bit guilty.
"I'm so sorry, Shirayuki-chan...but I felt so bad for being so forceful when I asked if you and Tatsurou-chan were doing naughty things...but I was mostly scared that you would get angry and not talk to me after it..." Wise said with an apologetic tone, as she got close to Shirayuki.
"I know that and I would never get angry at you, because of something like this, Wise-san...but I just want to take things, a bit slowly and most of all...I don't want Tatsurou to think...that I'm a naughty girl...that only thinks about h-hugging, h-holding hands or...k-kissing him..." Shirayuki said with an embarrassed tone, as she took her hands off her face to reveal that she was blushing from ear to ear.
"Shirayuki-chan...I already told you once, didn't I? Tatsurou would never think, that your a naughty girl, because of that and he never will!" Wise said with a comforting tone, as she gently warped her arms around Shirayuki and hugged her.
"Thanks, Wise-san...but I still want to take things a bit slow and only tell these things to Tatsurou after me and Ma...!" As Shirayuki said this, she came to a sudden stop, while her eyes opened wide, something that surprised and worried Wise a bit.
"Wait! I...can't tell Wise that Marie and I are going to share Tatsurou, once I get the courage to confess to him!" Shirayuki thought a bit worried while she blushed and her ahoge pointed up.
"Shirayuki-chan, what's wrong?" Wise asked with a worried tone, as she stooped hugging Shirayuki, that began to blush even more, as she took a few steps back.
"Nothings wrong, Wise-san! I swear!" Shirayuki said with a very embarrassed and nervous tone, as she blushed from head to toe, her first mistake.
"Hmm...is that so, Shirayuki-chan? You're acting quite weird, for someone that's saying that "nothings wrong" don't you think?" Wise asked with a very suspicious tone, as she took a step closer to Shirayuki.
"I-I'm telling you, Wise-san...nothings wrong...it's just that I got a bit embarrassed upon thinking how I should tell Tatsurou how I feel...yes, that's why!" Shirayuki said again with her embarrassed tone, as she took another few steps back, her second mistake as Wise just closed her eyes and sniffed the air a bit.
"Shirayuki-chan...I smell a little liar here..." Wise said with a mischievous and smug tone, as she opened her eyes and took another few steps forward.
"No one's lying, Wise-san! You're just imagining things now!" Shirayuki said again with her embarrassed tone, as she took a few steps back again, but this time, Shirayuki hit one of the counters of the kitchen with her back, something that made an escape impossible.
"Shirayuki-chan...only bad girls tell lies! Good girls always tell the truth and your not a bad girl, are you?" Wise asked with a mischievous and smug tone to Shirayuki, while she opened her arms wide and both her ears and tail pointed up, to an outsider this situation looked similar to a wolf, ready to catch and gobble up a defenseless lamb.
"Just tell me the truth, Shirayuki-Chan and I promise that I'll be nice and gentle if you do that!" Wise said again with her smug tone, as she quickly closed the distance between her and Shirayuki, that was blushing from head to toe in this moment very moment.
"Please...save me Tatsurou, Marie!" Shirayuki thought as she closed her eyes and prepared to whatever Wise was about to do, to make her talk, but suddenly, Shirayuki's prayers would be heard, as the sound of a ringtone was heard in the apartment...
"This ring tone..." As Wise said this, she regained her composure and took her phone out of the pocket of her apron, but to her surprise, it wasn't her phone that was ringing.
"Weird...I could swear this was my ring tone just now..." Wise said with a confused tone, while she scratched her head a bit, but it didn't last long as this ringtone, was heard again.
"Oh! I'm sorry, Wise-san...but it is my phone's ringtone...I have to go and see who's calling!" Shirayuki said with a happy and relieved tone, as she quickly walked past Wise and made her way to the small table of the living room.
"Oh! It's Tatsurou, that's calling me!" Shirayuki said with a very happy and excited tone, as she picked up the phone and saw Tatsurou's name on the screen.
"I have to...answer...yes, that's how it's said, yes! But wait a moment...just how...do you answer a call again?" Shirayuki said a bit worried and confused, as she looked at the phone's screen and saw a green button and a red button.
"Usually, you have to press the green button to answer a call, Shirayuki-chan!" Wise said with an informative tone, as she stepped into the living room and approached Shirayuki from behind.
"T-That's right, Wise-san! I'm a bit nervous since it is my first time answering one, that I forgot..." Shirayuki said with a faintly embarrassed tone, as she pressed the answer button on the phone and moved it close to her ear.
"Y-Yes?" Shirayuki said with a nervous tone, as her ahoge wiggled around a bit.
"H-Hi, its me, Shirayuki..." Tatsurou said from the other side, also with a nervous tone.
"Hello, Tatsurou...is everything alright?" Shirayuki asked still with a nervous and worried tone, as she held the right sleeve of her shrine maiden kimono a bit, this surprised Wise a lot.
"Wait...Shirayuki is calling Tatsurou-chan, without honorifics?!" Wise thought both surprised and impressed, as she looked at Shirayuki.
"Yes, everything's fine, don't worry...I just called to tell you that I won't be able to make it home for lunch...I'm sorry for not having called you sooner..." Tatsurou said with a faint nervous tone.
"Don't worry about that Tatsurou, I haven't made lunch yet, so it's alright!" Shirayuki said with a reassuring tone, as she smiled.
"But if you don't mind me asking, you won't make it home for lunch...because you have to look after Honoka-chan, for a bit longer?" Shirayuki asked a bit curious, as her ahoge wiggled around.
"Not really...something a bit sudden came up and I have to take care of it..." Tatsurou said with an informative tone, which made Shirayuki a bit worried.
"I see...but it's nothing dangerous or something like that, right Tatsurou?" Shirayuki asked with a worried tone, as her ahoge drooped a bit.
"Don't worry Shirayuki, it's nothing dangerous or anything!" Tatsurou said with a reassuring tone to Shirayuki that made her ahoge go back to normal, as it wiggled a bit.
"Really, you promise?" Shirayuki asked still with her worried tone.
"Yes, I promise! You don't have to worry about it, Shirayuki!" Tatsurou said again with a reassuring tone, that made Shirayuki smile.
"Alright then, I believe you Tatsurou...but you better not come back home with any bruises or injuries, after telling me not to worry!" Shirayuki said with a happy tone, which turned into a faint angry one, as she placed her hand in front of her mouth and giggled a bit.
"I won't...you can rest assured about that, Shirayuki! Now, I don't how long, I'll take...so I'll give you another call when I go back home...is that ok?" Tatsurou asked a bit curious.
"That's fine by me! Then talk to you later, Tatsurou!" Shirayuki said with a happy tone, as her ahoge wiggled around quite a bit.
"Sure! See you later then, bye Shirayuki..." As Tatsurou said this, he turned off the call and as he did, Shirayuki moved the phone away from her ear and looked at the screen for a bit.
"Tatsurou's voice sounds so different over the phone...and having him talk so close to my hear...by all the Kami's in heaven...I can't wait for him to call me again!" Shirayuki thought while she blushed and smiled quite a lot, as she kept looking at the screen.
But, this wouldn't last long, as she felt a strong aura filled with curiosity behind her...
"Shirayuki-chan, Shirayuki-chan! So you have a phone now? I'm quite surprised that you didn't tell me anything about it!" Wise said with a very curious tone, while she grabbed Shirayuki's shoulder and smiled, Shirayuki upon hearing her, jolted a bit as her ahoge pointed up briefly before she walked a bit away from Wise.
"Y-Yes...I have a phone now! I'm sorry I didn't tell you sooner Wise-san, but I'll give you my number right away!" Shirayuki said with a nervous tone as she turned towards Wise, that smiled as she tilted her head.
"You don't have to worry about that for now, Shirayuki-chan, it's ok!" Wise said with a reassuring tone, that didn't last too long.
"For now, I have more important things to talk and ask you, like for example...was it Tatsurou-chan, that gave you that phone?" Wise asked still with a curious tone, as she placed her hand on her cheek, Shirayuki just jolted again, upon hearing her.
"Y-Yes...it was Tatsurou that gave me this phone..." Shirayuki said with a very embarrassed tone, while she fidgeted a bit and looked down, but it was in this moment that Wise's body became covered in a fiery red aura, while she kept smiling, upon hearing Shirayuki.
"W-Wise-san?!" Shirayuki asked both worried and scared, while she looked at Wise, before she began to take a few steps back.
"Well, well, well...now these are some news I didn't know about, Shirayuki-chan!" Wise said with a mischievous tone, as she took a few steps closer to Shirayuki, that in return took another few steps back.
"Wait, Wise-san! I can explain everything!" Shirayuki said with an embarrassed tone as she flailed her arms around a bit.
"All of this smells way too fishy, Shirayuki-chan! Tatsurou giving you an expensive gift, you two calling each other without honorifics and I can't forget about what happened in the kitchen! You're definitely hiding something from me!" Wise said still with her mischievous tone, as she slowly opened her arms and prepared to catch Shirayuki.
"I'm not hiding anything, I swear!" Shirayuki said with a very embarrassed tone, while she took another step back and her ahoge pointed upwards, but it was at this moment that Shirayuki hit the window of the living room, and once again she didn't have anywhere to escape.
"I know that you are hiding something from me, Shirayuki-chan, or else you wouldn't react that way! So, you're going to be a very good girl and tell me all about it, aren't you?" Wise said as she took another step forward, but just as she was about to wrap her arms around shirayuki and catch her for good, Shirayuki ducked and made a run for it, with Wise going after her, almost instantly and what followed, was Shirayuki and Wise running around the table of the living room.
"Stop running away, Shirayuki-chan!" Wise said with a faint angry tone, as she kept running after Shirayuki.
"I'm not stopping, until you call a bit down, Wise-san!" Shirayuki said with a very embarrassed tone, as she kept running away from Wise and this would go on for a whole 2 minutes, until...
"I finally got you, Shirayuki-Chan, you little rascal!" Wise said with a happy and tired tone, as she warped her hands around Shirayuki's waist while she lifted her a bit, to stop her from running away anymore.
"Wise-san, I swear that I'm not hiding anything, I swear! So please let me go!" Shirayuki said again with an embarrassed tone, as she tried to get away from Wise's grasp, to no avail.
"I'm so sorry, Shirayuki-chan! I'll give you all the cookies or sweets you want later, but I just have to know what your hiding from me!" As Wise said this, she began to viciously tickle Shirayuki, that in turn began to laugh, a lot.
"W-Wait...Wise-san! S-Stop! You're tickling me too much!" Shirayuki said with an embarrassed tone in between laughs, as she tried to get out of Wise's grasp again.
"I just knew, that something was off the other day when I saw Tatsurou-chan smiling so much! So just be honest with me, Shirayuki-chan, how far have you gotten with him? Have you two held hands? Did you cuddle? Oh, don't tell me that this time around you kissed Tatsurou-chan, while he was awake?" Wise asked question after question with an extremely curious tone, as she kept tickling Shirayuki, that upon hearing these questions, began to blush from head to toe.
"W-We didn't do any of that, Wise-san! The only thing I did was holding Tatsurou's arm when we went to the grocery store the other day...!" As Shirayuki said this, Wise's eyes opened wide, as she briefly stooped tickling Shirayuki.
"You...held Tatsurou-chan's arm, while you went out? Kya! That's even more news that I didn't know about and that I need more details on it asap!" Wise said with a very excited tone, as she proceeded to tickle Shirayuki once again.
"No, Wise-san...wait!" Shirayuki said as she began to laugh again, upon being tickled.
"I can't take it any longer! I'll have to tell everything to Wise...if I want her to stop...but I'm afraid of her reaction, when I tell her that Marie and I are going to share Tatsurou..." Shirayuki thought as she was getting to her limit of how much more tickling she could handle.
"I don't want to tell her about it just now...please somebody, save me!" Shirayuki thought again, as she closed her eyes and tried her best to escape again, but Shirayuki's prayers would be heard once again...
"Good morning, Shirayuki...heh, miss Wise? what are you doing here?" Marie, that was wearing her usual black tank top and shorts, asked with a very sleepy tone, that turned into a confused one, as she entered the living room and saw this weird scenario in front of her and needless to say that upon seeing her, Wise let go of Shirayuki pretty quickly.
"G-Good morning, Marie!"
"M-Morning, Marie-chan"
Both Shirayuki and Wise said a bit embarrassed, as they quickly regained their composures.
"N-Now to answer your question, Marie-chan...you see, I came here because I promised Shirayuki-chan that I would teach her how to make cookies today!" Wise said with a nervous tone, as she raised her index finger a bit and smiled.
"Y-Yes! That's why Wise-san, is here today!" Shirayuki said with a nervous tone, that quickly turned into a happy one, as she nodded.
"Hmm, I see...you did mention that the other day, Shirayuki...but if you two don't mind me asking...what was that get up, that you were in?" Marie asked a bit curious, as she scratched her cheek a bit, something that made Shirayuki and Wise jolt.
"Of course, she would ask about that!" Shirayuki and Wise thought at the same time, as they tilted their heads a bit.
"Well, Marie...um...we were...well..." Shirayuki said with a nervous tone, as she tried to find a way to explain to Marie, what she just witnessed, Wise just sighed, a bit worried while she glanced at Shirayuki.
"That's pretty simple to answer, Marie-chan! Well you see, I was just playing around a bit with Shirayuki-chan and I...ended up getting too much into it...but that's to be expected of a wolf beast-kin, such as myself!" Wise said as she raised her index finger a bit and she wasn't lying, as wolf beast-kin, have properties of both wolfs and dogs, and thanks to that, they tend to be very playful both when they are children and when they are adults, but in this case, Wise was lying just a little bit, so that she could change the subject.
"Oh, I didn't know that! But that also explains all that noise, I was hearing..." Marie said with an impressed tone, as she crossed her arms a bit.
"Were so sorry, for making so much noise and waking you up, Marie..." Shirayuki said with an apologetic and worried tone, as she blushed a bit.
"Fufu, it's ok! I was about to get up anyway since I was getting a tiny bit hungry..." Marie said with a reassuring tone, as she placed her hand in front of her mouth and giggled a bit.
"If your hungry, then we should go and prepare the lunch that, Wise-san brought us!" Shirayuki said with a happy tone, while she placed her hands together and her ahoge wiggled around a bit.
"Really? Miss Wise brought us something for lunch?" Marie asked a bit curious as she looked at Shirayuki, then at Wise.
"I sure did! It's like I told Shirayuki-chan, I was going to come here a bit earlier to teach her how to make cookies, but then something came up...and to compensate, my tardiness, I brought something really good to eat during lunch!" Wise said also with a happy tone, as she raised her index finger a bit.
"Oh, I see! I never had your cooking miss Wise, so I can't wait to have a bite! Just give a few seconds to get changed and we'll dig right in!" Marie said with a happy tone, while she placed her hands together and turned towards her and Shirayuki's room.
"Sure, Marie! But you don't need to rush yourself!" Shirayuki said with a happy tone, as she looked at Marie taking, her leave and when she was finally gone, both Shirayuki and Wise let out a big sigh.
"Well, we could say that this was a close one..." Wise said with a relieved tone, as she sighed a bit.
"Don't you think so...Shirayuki-chan?!" Wise said with a very surprised tone, as she looked at Shirayuki, that was now hiding behind the couch, while she pocked her head out from behind it.
"Wow, she's pretty fast!" Wise thought a bit impressed, as she looked at Shirayuki and began to approach the couch, something that made Shirayuki stop poking her head from behind it.
"Shirayuki-chan... you're not angry at me, are you?" Wise asked a bit worried, as she stooped briefly, but, Shirayuki didn't give her an answer.
"Shirayuki-chan, is angry...very angry...but that was to be expected, I was even more forceful than last time, when I asked her about her and Tatsurou-chan...good grief, why do I have to always be so curious..." Wise thought again while she loathing her curiosity, as began to walk towards the couch again.
"I'm so, so, sorry for my behavior just now, Shirayuki-chan...I swear that I didn't mean to be forceful with you just now... it's just that, wolf beast-kin...tend to be very curious and we can't help ourselves when it comes to having secrets, especially when it is with someone we like a lot..." Wise said with a calm and apologetic tone, as she pointed her index fingers at each other, and once again, it was true.
Wolf Beast-kin, shared a lot of traits that are common to normal wolves and one of those traits was, the natural sense of curiosity that they all possessed and adding the fact that they also possessed the high curiosity trait, that is found in humans, we could say that wolf beast-kins are the best gossipers around and its quite hard to keep a secret from them, for too long.
"I know that perhaps...this all sounds like a big excuse for the way I acted towards you, Shirayuki-chan...but I really am telling you the truth..." Wise said with a sad guilty tone, as her ears and tail pointed down, upon seeing that Shirayuki, wasn't coming out from behind the couch.
"Once again Shirayuki-chan, I'm sorry for the way I acted and I understand, if this time you don't want to talk with me for a while, it is only fair...but I don't want that to happen..." Wise said again with a sad tone as she now looked down, but this wouldn't last long, as Shirayuki placed her hands on the couch and slowly poked her head out from behind it again.
"I believe you, Wise-san...and don't worry, I'm not angry at you, because of this..." Shirayuki said with an embarrassed and reassuring tone, while she got up and walked out from behind the couch.
"But it's just that...when it comes to Tatsurou and things like love or confessions...I'm still very embarrassed and not at ease with them...so as I told you earlier...for now, I want to take things a bit, slowly and gain enough courage before I finally tell Tatsurou how I feel...and I know that it probably is a bit dumb to think like this, but I just don't want my confession to be forced, if anything, I want it to happen when the time is right..." Shirayuki said with an embarrassed tone, as she got close to Wise that smiled.
"Shirayuki-Chan, your not dumb for taking things slowly! Most relationships that are rushed or forced, rarely last for too long...so I believe that your approach is the best one! But you see Shirayuki-chan, the thing here, is that I know...just how much you love, Tatsurou-chan, and I would be devastated, if someone stole him away right in front of you and I couldn't do anything about it..." Wise said with a worried tone, as she briefly looked over her shoulder in the direction of Shirayuki and Marie's room, something that Shirayuki took notice of.
"That's why...I'm always telling you to go for it or asking how far you've gotten with Tatsurou-chan...I'm...I'm just worried, you know..." Wise said with a faintly embarrassed tone, as she fidgeted a bit.
"You don't have to worry about that, stealing Tatsurou away from me, Wise-san! That won't happen!" Shirayuki said with a reassuring tone, as she gave Wise a very warm smile.
"But Shirayuki-chan..." As Wise said this, she was interrupted by Shirayuki, that held Wise's right hand with both of her hands.
"That won't happen, Wise-san...it just won't happen, I promise! So please don't worry about it! " Shirayuki said again with a reassuring tone, as she smiled again, something that made Wise's tail wag around a bit.
"If you say so...then I'll believe you, Shirayuki-Chan!" Wise said with a happy tone, as she now warped her arms around Shirayuki and gave her a tight hug.
"I know that I already said this when I took care of you, Shirayuki-chan...but if you need my help with Tatsurou-chan, you just have to ask and I'll do everything I can to help!" Wise said with a determined tone, as she kept hugging Shirayuki.
"I know, Wise-san...I know and I'm thankful for your help! But you don't have to worry!" Shirayuki said with a very happy tone, as she also hugged Wise and they would stay like this for a while until...
"I'm ready you two! What's wrong?" Marie, that was now wearing her usual nuns habit and a light blue dress, asked with a curious and worried tone, as she entered the kitchen and saw Shirayuki and Wise hugging each other, and surely enough Shirayuki and Wise quickly let go of each other, upon hearing Marie.
"Nothings wrong, Marie!" Shirayuki said with a reassuring tone, as she smiled.
"Yes, Marie-chan! I was just hugging Shirayuki-chan, as an apology for being so energetic earlier while playing with her!" Wise said also with a reassuring tone, as she raised her index finger a bit.
"I see..." Marie said a bit suspicious as she scratched her cheek a little bit.
"Well then, now that you're finally dressed up, Marie...how about we go set the table, to eat our lunch and after it would you like to join me and Wise and learn how to make cookies?" Shirayuki asked with a happy and curious tone, as she got close to Marie.
"Sure, I would love to learn how to make some cookies!" Marie said with a happy tone, as she placed her hands together.
"Then what are we waiting for girls? Let's go and dig in!" Wise said with an excited tone, as she placed her left hand on Shirayuki's shoulder and her right hand on Marie's shoulder.
"Yes, let's go then!" Both Shirayuki and Marie said at the same time, as they looked at Wise and smiled, before making their way to the kitchen...